[Current & Culture] I Don't Want to Read Books That Tell Me Not to Make an Effort Anymore

Not long ago, a woman in her twenties named B came to me holding a book and asked, "Have you read this book? What do you think of it?" She was an office worker who had been working for about two years and was starting to shed the rookie image. Whenever there was an online conference related to her job, she would attend despite the high cost, and although she might not fully understand everything, she seemed to be engaging in various self-development activities. I had worked with her in the same office since she first started her job. Watching her gradually grow was a pleasure.

The title of the book she held included the word "effort." It was ambiguous whether it meant that one should make an effort or not. When I said I hadn’t read it and asked if the book looked interesting, B replied,

"If it’s a book that says 'Don’t make an effort, don’t work hard, take a break,' I wouldn’t want to read it. Those kinds of books are boring and don’t really leave anything behind."

For a while, books telling people not to make an effort gained popularity. As far as I remember, this trend started around the time the book Sachuk Ilgi (Diary of a Corporate Slave) was published, and after the book It Hurts, Therefore Youth began to be criticized. It was probably a backlash against a society that had long emphasized "effort" above all else. During that period, books emphasizing the need for rest and time to reflect on one’s own mind were published. Most of these were essays with somewhat hip cover illustrations. Along with this, phenomena like "work-life balance," "N-jobbers," and "side jobs" emerged. The idea that separating work and life is necessary for happiness, and living by juggling various projects?perhaps it was a decade when everyone needed rest.

I’m not sure what is right. After the era of self-development based on effort has passed, perhaps the era of self-care based on rest is also coming to an end. In fact, I have seen many cases where people who moderately adapted to such trends shone briefly but did not end well. From afar, they looked like experts, but their evaluations at work were poor; they meddled in everything and left the places they went to in ruins. Such people probably did not look good even to young newcomers like B. The good people I met later in my career were those who had their own expertise, were sincerely devoted to it, and steadily trained themselves.

However, I do not wish for a harsh era for individuals to return. The next trend seems to be related to the FIRE movement?earning moderately and retiring early?but I’m not sure what it will be. I just hope we move toward a better answer. Above all, I hope young people like B will be happy.

Kim Minseop, Social and Cultural Critic

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.